‘Alone and isolated’: Luke claims he has ‘PTSD’ after way Mel treated him on MAFS Australia

‘I just wasn’t treated nicely’

3 hours ago

Ellissa Bain | Entertainment

Luke and Mel finally both voted to leave at the latest MAFS Australia commitment ceremony after weeks of painfully trying to make things work despite there being no connection between them at all. Mel basically made no effort with Luke from the start, and he has now claimed he has “PTSD” from the way he was treated during the experiment.

In interview with Daily Mail Australia, the groom said he found watching the show back very “traumatic” and said: “For some reason the first week, second week [of watching the show back], I wasn’t enjoying it at all. I realised I feel like I actually had a bit of PTSD. I’d been in this experiment with Mel and just wasn’t really treated nicely.”

Luke said he went out into the real world after filming finished and “suppressed” a lot of the emotions he was feeling. But when it started airing on TV, it brought all the emotions back. “Watching it back really made me feel upset and it was tough to watch,” Luke said.

The MAFS groom explained that he kept trying and trying to get close to Mel, even just as a friend, but she wasn’t having any of it, and it made him feel “isolated” and “alone”. The worst part is, he could see her having a laugh with the rest of the cast and couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong, which made him feel really “uncomfortable”.

Credit: Channel Nine

“I feel like she was never really letting me in even as a friend just to chat, to have a bit of banter, have a laugh. So yeah, the honeymoon was not fun. I honestly felt so alone and isolated on the honeymoon [and the rest of the experiment],” he said.

“I’d see her energy towards other people compared to myself and it would be a stark difference. To me, it felt like she was trying to give me nothing. And I was just so confused by that because I don’t care that she wasn’t attracted to me. If she wasn’t attracted to me, that’s fine. Let’s at least be friends. We’re in this experiment together.”

Luke said he made “endless effort” to try and be friends with her. “I genuinely tried every little thing in the book. I’d always just start the day and ask her heaps of questions, and I feel like that’s a really nice way to show that you care about someone. You ask them lots of questions, even just little nothing kind of questions. And I’d always get cold, short answers,” he recalled.

“But then when I’d see Mel chatting to other people, it would be more energy and better body language and she’d be asking them questions and I would just be thinking ‘What am I doing wrong? I’m trying everything and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong’.”

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Credit: Channel Nine

The groom said he was “trying so hard” to connect with Mel on a friendly level and “wasn’t getting anywhere” which was a “pretty low feeling”. He said: “You can’t help but feel alone and isolated.”

Luke doesn’t regret going on the show, though. “I don’t regret being on the show, even though it was a pretty sour experience. I feel like I still learned a lot about myself and I made a lot of cool friends in the process,” he added.

Mel has also shared an apology on Instagram for the way she treated Luke, writing: “Over the past few weeks I’ve watched parts of myself on TV that have been difficult to see. There were moments where I didn’t communicate well and came across insensitive. For that, I’m truly sorry to anyone who felt hurt or offended.

“This experience has been a huge learning curve for me. I’m not perfect, and seeing things play back has made me reflect on how I handle certain moments. All I can do is acknowledge it and keep growing.” She said she’s “sorry” for “not developing romantic feelings” for Luke and concluded: “Luke is a good person and I genuinely wish him the best.”